Urban Workshop and Sketchwalks Last April 16 & 17

Design Week Philippines happens twice a year, and for the first edition this year on April 16 and 17, Urban Sketchers Philippines was invited to the first designated Design District: the Spanish-era Walled City of Intramuros, Manila. This coincided with Intramuros Pasyal Weekend, usually organized monthly by Viva Manila, where part of Gen. Luna Street in Intramuros becomes a pedestrian zone for the two afternoons.

Organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), Design Week Philippines is an assembly of some of local artist groups and cultural activities.

Eileen Bondoc Escueta provides some tips to workshop participants on the first day.

Participants of two workshops reached more than 40 people total, mostly students and those who were joining us for the sketchwalks for the first time.

The UNESCO-declared World Heritage Site of San Agustin Church is one of the best examples of Spanish-era structures.

The sketchwalks after the workshops yielded some impressive sketch results. However, it was reminder that the activity of sketching need not be to impress. Sketching or drawing - in a world where a camera or a smartphone can instantly take a picture of the scene - is an activity of discovery, expression, and a tool for observing places, people or things.

Sketching is an effective way to observe and appreciate our built heritage.

A booth for Urban Sketchers Philippines was provided along Gen. Luna Street to let us join in the monthly weekend market. A brief public workshop on sketching basics, and a 2-hour sketchwalk of Intramuros were also held for the two afternoons.

The booth provided gave some information to the public about what Urban Sketchers is all about.

It is always interesting to see the sketch results with varied styles - we may draw the same subject, but we always draw differently.

Sketch results for the first day.

The 1-hour workshop gave the most essential principles of how eye-hand coordination works, and eventually also included the basics of different sketch media used. The workshop placed emphasis on how practicing as much as you can can yield better proficiency - like any other skill like driving or riding a bicycle.

Janeil Arlegui gives sketching advice for the second day workshop.

A brief exercise in sketching before going out to the sketchwalk.

Temperatures of the two days were pretty high - as maximum 38 degrees Celsius. Best to use shaded areas as vantage views for sketching for a few minutes.

Intramuros offers some picturesque scenes that are just asking for sketchers to sketch.

Resident children were encouraged to draw what they saw.

The 2nd day's sketch results.

The best part about the Urban Sketchers is that we are made up of people with different backgrounds, most surprisingly people who don't  use drawing as a source of their career. Ordinary people who are using sketching as a way to see, not just to look. It is an enjoyable way of heightening one's perceptual senses. The sketchbooks become visual diaries that can be shared and kept as reminders of the experiences.

Old and new Urban Sketchers Philippines participants show off their sketches.

In another event organized by CITEM, we also had some opportunity to see the exposition of FAME Manila held at the Metro Manila World Trade Center, April 21-24.

Post-Design Week: Manila FAME, Philippines export exposition (April 21-24) showcases the best Philippines furniture, crafts, and new innovations.

Traditional cloth weaving method was even showcased during the exposition.

We thank CITEM Philippines for inviting us as being a part of Design Week.

Urban Sketchers Philippines 4th Anniversary Events in Old Manila

Urban Sketchers Philippines has come a long way from when it was formed in May 2011 with 3 initial members. Four years later, we now have more than 40 active members joining the monthly sketch sessions around Metro Manila.

Happy 4th birthday, Urban Sketchers Philippines!

For our 4th anniversary, we celebrated by holding two major events: our official monthly sketchwalk on May 16, and an exhibit and workshop on May 17, an activity that was held in line with the first Manila Urban Design Festival.

For our official monthly sketchwalk, we went to Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila. Fort Santiago, located at the mouth of the Pasig River, is a citadel that was built by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi when Manila was first established and is part of the defensive structure of Intramuros, Manila’s walled city.

Philippine sketchers in action!

National hero Jose Rizal was imprisoned at the fort before his execution in 1896; the fort features the steps Rizal took from his holding cell on the way out to in Bagumbayan (now Luneta), where he bravely faced his death.

The sketchers scattered around the fort, drawing everything from the tourist tram and horse-drawn carriages to the iconic gate adorned by a relief of Saint James the Great, the patron saint of Spain and after whom the fort was named.

Some of the sketches we made that day. 

USk PH also participated in the first Manila Urban Design Festival with an exhibit of works done on location and a lecture-workshop on sketching in one of the chambers of the Maestranza, part of the foundry of the armory located near Fort Santiago. It also served as a warehouse of the armaments and cannons during the Spanish colonial period. The Maestranza was destroyed during World War II and was rebuilt The workshop was led by Janeil Arlegui, one of the founding members of the group. Ryan Sumo also gave some pointers on sketching.

Lecture-workshop by Janeil Arlegui

Sketching at the Maestranza Plaza

  

Works on display.

Sketch of the workshop by Aurelio Castro III

After the workshop, some of the sketchers went out to the plaza to draw the festival goings-on: a demo by the members of Parkour Philippines, a demo-performance on Philippine martial arts, people buying food and browsing through crafts sold at colorful tents, families and friends walking around. All in all it was an enjoyable weekend of urban sketching fun!

Workshop participants trying out contour sketching.

Sketch by Manuel Jiongco

Sketch by Irma Lara

Sketch by Ryan Sumo

It's a wrap! Urban Sketchers Philippines with Julia Nebrija, Festival Director

More photos of the festival (and sketchers having fun on bicycles!) in Solo Galura's photoset on Flickr here.

Photos in this post by Ian Ulpindo, Ige Trinidad, Ched de Gala, and Irma Lara.